some have said washington needs to spend more and that we need to raise taxes and tax our way to prosperity. what the bca showed is that washington can cut spending. because of this law, that is just what we have done. for the first time since the korean war, the first time since the korean war, government spending has declined for two years in a row. the first time in 50 years. we are not going back on this agreement. there is a lot more we need to do to get our fiscal house in order. hopefully, once we have gotten past the drama of the moment, we can get to work on it. for now, let's not understate the importance of the budget control or the importance of the fight. this is the largest spending bill of the last quarter- century. and the largest deficit reduction bill since 1981 that did not include a tax hike. preserving this law is critically important to the future of our country. throughout this debate, republicans focused on obamacare -- the public has rightly focused on obamacare for good reason. this law is ravaging our economy and killing jobs and driving up premiums and driving pe